


Staying Together

by hybridempress



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Attempted divorce, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 20:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4363109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybridempress/pseuds/hybridempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fight over an encounter that Francis had with his ex-fiancée leads Arthur to decide that he no longer wants to be married, but both men are having second thoughts about signing the papers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Staying Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [auto-alchemechanicist](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=auto-alchemechanicist).



"...You will have joint custody of the children unless one of you wishes to appeal to a judge for full custody. The terms of their time with each of you must be agreed upon together and approved by a judge. You will..."

Francis and Arthur listened to their divorce lawyer read the legal papers and terms to them as they sat next to each other, across from her, on the opposite side of her desk. Well, neither of them were listening, actually. They were too preoccupied with other thoughts.

Both of them were wondering how they had gotten this far. How had they let it get to this point? To the point where they were sitting in a divorce attorney's office, about to sign some papers that would officially end their marriage? The worst part was that neither of them really wanted it, but both of them thought that the other did. 

\---

_"You're so goddamn unbelievable, Arthur! This is such a stupid thing to be picking a fight with me over!" Francis shouted._

_"It's stupid to you because you don't have to live through it! I'm not the one doing anything to you!" Arthur shouted back._

_"What the hell am I doing to you!? I haven't done anything wrong!" Francis protested._

_"Oh, that's right, because you're **so** perfect, you're an absolute **god** among men and are incapable of doing anything wrong!" Arthur spat._

_"I never said that! I know I'm not perfect, Arthur! No one is!" Francis yelled._

_"Except you, apparently!" Arthur shouted._

_"Well if you think that highly of me then why are we fighting in the first place?" Francis asked bitterly._

_"How do you think it feels to find out from your mates at work that they saw your husband having lunch with his ex-fiancée!? Three days after it happened!? Apparently you were holding her hand and kissing her cheeks, too! How could you do something like that to me!?" Arthur demanded._

_"It was a friendly lunch with an old friend that I happened to run into! Lisa is still my friend, Arthur, but it's nothing more than that! I'm allowed to spend time with friends!" Francis shouted._

_"And kiss them!?" Arthur demanded._

_"I didn't kiss anywhere but her cheeks! I kiss everyone's cheeks! You know that's just part of my personality! You never say a damn word when I kiss Ivan or Feliciano or anyone else! Why is Lisa any different!?" Francis asked defensively._

_"Because she's your fucking **ex-fiancée,** Francis!" Arthur answered._

_"And I gave her up for **you,** Arthur! I've never been anything but faithful to you! Why the hell would that change now!?" Francis asked._

_"H-how would I know!? But why the fuck would you keep something like that secret from me!?" Arthur countered._

_"Because I knew you'd blow it out of proportion like this! I didn't want you to be angry with me!" Francis shouted._

_"Oh, well, you certainly did a good job of covering it up, didn't you!? No, I'm not angry at **all!** " Arthur hissed._

_"You shouldn't be!" Francis yelled._

_"I have a right to be angry when I have reason to suspect that my husband is cheating on me!" Arthur exclaimed._

_"You don't have a reason to suspect me of anything, Arthur! We've been married ten years now! Spouses are supposed to be able to trust each other, especially when they've been together for so long!" Francis yelled._

_"Then maybe we shouldn't be married, Francis, because I sure as hell don't trust you," Arthur snarled._

_Francis' mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "T-take that back right now, Arthur. T-take it back, you can't mean that!" he gasped._

_"Oh, but I do mean it, Francis. You and I aren't right for each other. We never have been and we never will be. You're so vain and arrogant and you work too much, you're never home, you don't give a fuck about Alfred and Matthew, or me, and you're probably sleeping with your ex-fiancée, too. And I don't want any part in this anymore," Arthur said._

_Francis growled softy. "You're right. If that's really what you think of me, then we shouldn't be married. I don't deserve to be with someone who thinks so little of me."_

\---

So here they were, about to officially separate themselves because of an argument that had gotten out of hand. Because Francis had chosen to hide something from Arthur. Because Arthur had said some things that he had never meant. Because Francis couldn't forgive him for that, and Arthur would never ask.

The children had been in tears when Francis and Arthur had left them with Feliciano so that they could go down to the office. They had thought it was their fault. They had kept asking "Did we do something wrong? Are you getting a divorce because we were bad? We're so sorry, we didn't mean to, we don't want you to go! Please, we want both of you! We'll never be bad again, we promise!" 

It had broken Francis and Arthur's hearts. It was even more heartbreaking to try and explain to Alfred and Matthew that it wasn't their fault. Arthur and Francis couldn't say it was because they didn't love each other anymore, because they did. They still loved each other more than anything. They were having doubts even before they had left the kids with Feliciano. All they could say was that they were divorcing because they just weren't right for each other, but it was a half-hearted excuse that neither of them truly believed.

"So... If this is truly what you both want, then just sign these papers and the deed will be done," the lawyer finally finished, and pushed the divorce papers, along with a pen, in front of the two men who were sitting before her.

Francis and Arthur both stared at the papers, but neither of them moved. They were both so hesitant. Neither of them really wanted to do this. 

But Francis thought that this is what Arthur wanted. This whole thing was his fault, after all. He knew that. If he had just told Arthur the truth then maybe they wouldn't be in this mess. Francis couldn't be selfish. Not this time. 

Francis picked up the pen and wrote his signature on the paper quickly, but with shaking hands. When he was finished, he put the pen down and pushed both the pen and the paper towards Arthur. All he had to do was sign the papers, and this would be all over. 

But Arthur didn't want to sign the papers. He couldn't. He _wouldn't_.

When he went to pick the pen up, his hands started shaking so much that he couldn't even hold it. Tears welled up in his eyes and quickly began spilling down his face. He shook his head as it started to become hazy and pushed the papers away from him. He stood up from the chair and backed away from the desk on shaky legs. Francis watched him in awe.

"N-no, I won't do it! You can't make me! This is stupid, it's ridiculous! Why the hell did we ever decide to settle it this way!?" He cried, his voice cracking.

"A-Arthur, I-I...-"

"I-I'm so sorry, Francis, this is all my fault! I-I'm too jealous for my own good, I know that! I didn't mean a word that I said to you that day, I don't want this at all! Please, Francis, I love you! Please forgive me, I want you to stay!" he pleaded desperately.

Francis stood up from his chair and rushed over to Arthur, pulling him into a tight embrace and kissing his lips deeply and lovingly. The relief that was filling his soul at that very moment was overwhelming. He was drowning in it. 

He could hardly believe it. Arthur still loved him. Arthur wanted to stay. They weren't splitting up. They were staying together and they were going to keep loving each other and keep raising Alfred and Matthew together. _Together._

When Francis pulled away from Arthur, he was in tears. He cupped Arthur's face in his hands, and Arthur did the same to him. Francis laughed softly and smiled broadly.

"O-of course I'll stay, Arthur, I never wanted to leave! I-I only signed because I thought it was what you wanted," he said.

Arthur shook his head desperately, trying to calm himself down. "I-I don't want that at all! I-I believe you, Francis, I-I know you would never do that to me, and I need you! We can't- We can't divorce. Not now, and not ever. Whatever problems we have, we can work them out. We always have!" he exclaimed.

" _Je t'aime, mon ange,_ " Francis whispered, resting his forehead against Arthur's.

Arthur chuckled softly and closed his eyes, smiling faintly. "I love you too, my angel," he whispered back. 

Meanwhile, the divorce lawyer took the papers that Francis had signed and tore them in half, knowing that her clients no longer needed or wanted them. She started to tear up herself at the scene that she was witnessing. "I assume that you two won't be needing my services anymore?" she asked them softly.

Both Arthur and Francis shook their heads slowly. "No, we won't be needing your services today," Arthur replied. "And I don't think we ever will."

**Author's Note:**

> AAAAAAND FIC NUMBER SIX FOR APH FRANCE WEEK. WITH THIS I WILL HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE SOMETHING NEW FOR ALL SEVEN DAYS FUCK YEAH 
> 
> anyways, this fic is based off of a post that I found on tumblr about how things would go down if Arthur and Francis ever decided that they wanted a divorce ( http://auto-alchemechanicist.tumblr.com/post/120876674528/ahhh-ive-been-thinking-about-something-for-a ) The post made me cry and I knew that I needed to write a fic. This is short but I'm very happy with how it turned out. I think I did very well.


End file.
